The dough came together in 4 minutes. I timed myself when I made these yesterday and even I was surprised at how speedy these are to make. Four minutes?!?!? You’ve got to love that! Even in the Christmas craziness, that seems doable. And because it uses cake mix, your kitchen doesn’t get quite as trashed as mine seems to when we’re pulling out 5 other ingredients.

Option A – Drop the batter in spoonfuls and bake straight away. It’s the holidays, people, there’s not a lot of extra time, right? Right. So if you need cookies pronto, go for it. Bake with abandon, I say. I suggest the spoonfuls because the batter is sticky.

I will say that the shape of the cookies wasn’t stellar – they were a little free form and a bit more jagged. I say rename them “Yummy Lumps of Coal” and call it good. If you’re trying hard to impress, though, consider B or C.

Option B – If you don’t mind the mess, roll the sticky batter.

Option C – Actually let the dough chill and roll it into balls.

I had my husband taste test cookies made using both Option A and Option C, and he couldn’t tell the difference.  He said that A may have been slightly better but C had a “springier” texture. When I looked at him and said, “Do they taste different?” he replied, “Nope.”

You can also roll the balls in confectioner’s sugar prior to baking. I stopped doing this, though, because they seemed sweet enough and it didn’t seem necessary. I did sprinkle a little on top once they had cooled.

Here’s the weird thing about these cookies. I don’t like cream cheese. As in, don’t like it AT ALL. But I love these cookies. Go figure. If you’re not a cream cheese person, do not be scared off. Give them a shot. You may be as surprised as I was.

These are great to leave out for Santa, or for cookie exchanges when you don’t have a ton of time. Hope you like them as much as my family does!

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